Where do prayers go?

Where do prayers go?

All prayers—including “bad” ones—are destined for our Higher Power, however named, and thus are to be addressed that way. Some ministers use prayers as back-handed ways to lecture their congregations or repeat their sermons; this is bad form. These kinds of prayers still make it to God, but I suspect God sees right through them and responds accordingly.

In a previous article I said there’s no “right” or “wrong” about prayers or praying. There are, however, “good” and “bad” prayers. And, like art, the beauty of a prayer is in the ear of the beholder.

Speaking of praying aloud, I take a deep breath and pause before praying publicly. I script the prayers such that each line can be expressed easily in one breath. I practice reading aloud the prayers, which helps me decide where to breathe, and I underline certain words for emphasis. Rather than read a prayer, I deliver, give up a prayer, which means taking the time to nurture ideas and experiment with words and phrases, all the while listening from within. And I’ll incorporate silence into a prayer, for it is not just the spoken words that comprise a prayer but also the hidden thoughts, the secret feelings, even the subconscious.

Here is a litany quilted from the statements of Christian organizations working to include transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and gay people in the Church of Scotland, Baptist churches, churches in Ireland, evangelical churches, Episcopal and Anglican churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and other Christian groups:

Leader: Let us respond to God by offering our prayers for ourselves and others. Following each set of prayers, the pray-er will say, “Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened!” and you are invited to open yourself to listen, in the quiet stillness, and reflect from within. Let us pray:

Prayer 1: Dear God our Creator, we thank you for your gift of human sexuality in all its richness. Make us proud owners of our bodies and bold stewards of our abilities. By the power of your Holy Spirit, reunite our bodies and souls to embrace and honor our sexuality as an expression of your covenant love for all creation. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Prayer 2: O Good Shepherd, deliver us from paths of denial, bargaining, violence—even suicide. Lead us to be honest, to live with integrity, and to experience healing—especially where there is no cure. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Prayer 3: Holy Inspirer of the Old and New Testaments, break our love-hate relationship with the Bible. Melt our idolatries—our sacred cows—about scripture. Re-mold us by your Wisdom and Word made real in Jesus Christ. Fill us with the Good News that nothing can separate us from your love. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Prayer 4: O God who fashioned Adam and Eve and Adam and Steve and Eve and her partner, restore to the Church the privilege of nurturing individuals in their faith development, including their sexuality. Rejuvenate the Church’s blessing of faithful commitments, including same-gender relationships. Free us to respond to your steadfast love in all our relationships, that we might mirror Christ’s relational pattern of genuine love, mutual affection, and egalitarian service. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Prayer 5: Divine Maker of all things bright and beautiful, embody us to be comfortable with our feminine side and our masculine side and those parts of us that defy stereotypes. Holy Designer of all genders, enable each of us to simply be our self, to enjoy being transgender in safe environments, including the Church, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Prayer 6: O Liberator of all creatures great and small, use our experiences of discrimination and hate crimes to make every one of us advocates for children, youth, and adults who are victims of abuse or exploitation because of their skin color, class, mental or emotional or physical state, perceived gender or sexual orientation, religious or national heritage. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Prayer 7: Powerful Source of all things wise and wonderful, we thank you that it is entirely compatible with the Christian faith not only to love another person of the same gender but also to express that love fully in a personal sexual relationship. Thank you that I can be a sexual person and a spiritual person. Eph΄-pha-tha! Be opened! [Pause]

Amen.

Bottom line: There’s no such thing as a “perfect” prayer—only an honest prayer. God wants it all, and honestly, God can handle it.